Winegrowers halt traffic in Paphos

Winegrowers in Paphos blocked central Neophytos Nicolaides Avenue in Paphos on Friday morning in protest to the government compensation scheme which they deemed incomplete and unsatisfactory.

Prior to the protest, winegrowers submitted a formal complaint to the Paphos district agriculture department, asking them to modify the provision.

According to the complaint, the scheme does not cover winegrowers who were only partially able to harvest their lands. Winegrowers claimed that the scheme should be extended to all those financially affected, whether they were totally or partially unable to harvest.

They also call on the agriculture minister to simplify the application to the scheme.

“The total grant provided by the compensation scheme does not even come close to cover the expenses that winegrowers bear every year,” the complaint said.

According to the Paphos secretary of the Panagrarian Union of Cyprus (Pek) Charalambos Pittokopis, “the current compensation scheme offered by the ministry mocks and ridicules winegrowers led to Friday’s protest in Paphos.”

“They are sending a message to the agriculture ministry, demanding a fair compensation,” he said.